


Becoming

by Lucidity4fun



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Ash growing up, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Pokemon Master
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-11 18:58:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9002764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucidity4fun/pseuds/Lucidity4fun
Summary: Ash thought becoming a pokemon master was a child's play. He thought that he could make his own destiny. But what happens when fate has already written it for you. His journey was about to change as he understands what the real deal was. Can he master his own fate, and become the sailor of his destiny?





	1. The Lesson

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hey all! I have always been disappointed with the original Pokemon anime and wanted to write a story in which things are more serious, Ash gets more mature, and we explore lots of different ideas that come with leaving in a world of magical creatures. Please review; otherwise, I won't know whether you liked the story or not, or what things I need to improve. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I have to do this – I do not own Pokemon, never have and never will.

* * *

Chapter 1 – The Lesson

A week had gone by since he had earned his eighth badge. Time has flown by quickly, with his mind in a daze as he saw his dreams swimming in the infinite sea while leaning into the cruise ship's railing. He still felt giddy at the fact that he was finally going to compete in the Indigo league. They had reached Pallet last day, and it felt great to be finally home… and sleep in his own bed. It was already 10 AM, and Pikachu was still sleeping. He surprised himself when he remembered that mice had to sleep at least 12 hours a day, and it had been a long journey. And Pikachu hated ships. Especially when there was no ketchup available. They had decided to try something different and booked an unconventional Medieval Kanto cruise. He could hear voices coming from downstairs. After going to the bathroom and brushing his teeth, he went downstairs.

Brock and Misty were in their usual getup. They were conversing with his mom and were having breakfast at the kitchen table. Togepi was trying hard to chew on a brown bread on Misty's lap. Mr. Mime was standing near the kitchen counter gesticulating elegantly, as two mops mopped the floor on their own.

" ...battled for him!"

"So, you won the competition," Mom clapped her hands.

"Umm… hahaha. It was actually Ash who won it," Brock said as Misty looked embarrassed. "She was fortunate that it was her face that Togepi saw after he hatched. Togepis are one of the few pokémon who form a mother-son bond to the first person they see after their birth. I have always wondered about the evolutionary significance of this trait."

"Ha. Misty as a mother! I'd like to see that," Ash exclaimed as he entered the kitchen.

Misty turned around to glare at him. "And you would be a nice parental figure, snorlax."

"At least my pokemon don't suffer from headaches on seeing me," Ash retorted, grinning.

"You dumbo! At least he listens to me," said Misty, narrowing her eyes.

Ash backed down on seeing that he was close to Misty's irritation limit.

"Do you always sleep this late at home?" Brock asked Ash as he sat near his mom, and picked up a sandwich.

"Let's just say Ash is similar to a snorlax in more than sleeping habit," Misty quips. Misty doesn't care about Ash's irritation limit.

"Only when he has to go to the laboratory," Delia answered for Ash seeing as he already had his mouth filled with food.

"Whu? O' yah," Ash said, getting up hastily and grabbing another sandwich from the table. "I forgot about that. Why didn't you remind me before?"

Delia smiled at that. _Some habits never change._

Ash made a beeline for the exit door, when… "PUT ME DOWN!" a horror-stricken Ash exclaimed, as everyone saw him floating over the floor. The floor which was still wet.

"Oh, Mimey put him down, will you," Mrs. Ketchum told Mr. Mime as everyone else shook with laughter. Mr. Mime pointed one of its hand in Ash's direction. Ash was lowered down, as his body moved in synchronization with Mr. Mime's hand movement.

"Hey! What did you do that for?" Ash complained. Mr. Mime just gave him a look and then looked at the floor she was moping. "Oh. Sorry," he said embarrassed while munching on his 2nd sandwich.

Ash was about to leave Pikachu at home while he went around to see what Professor Oak wanted. Though, just as he was leaving, Pikachu came running down the stairs with a cry. "Hey Pikachu! Why don't you stay here and eat something? You must be tired from the trip."

Pikachu shook his head vigorously and then stopped. He sniffed the air and made a charge at the kitchen table directly for the ketchup bottle.

 _Like trainer, like pokemon,_ thought everyone else in the house.

* * *

"Nothing has changed in a year. Has it?" Ash said with his arms open wide. Pikachu nodded while rubbing his eyes. He had just finished squeezing the sorry life out of the ketchup bottle. Ash had an image of Charizard happily engulfing him with fire at that.

He knew almost all the people in Pallet Town, and all the people knew him. So, it was no surprise that he was greeted with smiles and wishes from almost everyone he saw. They asked about his journey, how he was doing, and finally congratulated him for getting 8 badges.

Seeing all these people cheering for him made him excited and filled him with determination to do good at the tournament. As he passed the last house, he saw the laboratory. It was a large building with a canopy so wide that an entire stadium could fit in it. He went through the entrance and walked through the door. _This was where he had started his journey._ There was a young lady sitting on a reception desk. He looked up at her badge, but it was illegible. He was about to ask her about that when she spoke.

"Hello. May I enquire about your business here?" She closed her eyes as she said that.

He forgot what he was about to ask. "Oh. I am Ash Ketchum. Professor Oak called me here."

"Ah. Yes. But aren't you a little late for that," she smiled. "Go to the synthesis chamber in the east wing." She pointed to a map that hung on the wall.

As he passed the huge laboratory, he looked at all the sections it had, each, dedicated to one of the numerous fields of pokémon study. There were many people working in it, but there weren't as many pokémon here as he thought there would be. For such a large place, there was little to no security here. It would surely be a treasure mine for criminals. He slowly walked into the room where he was supposed to meet the professor.

Professor Oak sat there peering over some data on a screen and at the opposite corner sat Gary using a computer. He smiled on seeing Ash. "Ash, aren't you a little late for our meeting. We were waiting for you to come."

Ash gulped, feeling guilty. "Um. I slept in a little late. I am very sorry; I was exhausted from the trip back home."

"Typical Ash. Always excuses," Gary supplied, rolling his eyes.

"Completely understandable Ash; we can excuse you this time." Ash nodded relieved. _I was excused last time too._

Professor then rubbed his hands together. "First of all, congratulations to you for qualifying for the Indigo League. You, besides Gary, are the only one who obtained 8 badges from Pallet."

Ash grinned, "Just you wait, Professor – I am going to be a pokémon master in no time!" Then he furrowed his brows, "But, what happened to the other two trainers? How many badges have they got? Can't they still qualify? There are still 2 months left for the tournament."

The old man laughed, "Ash, you are underestimating your achievement. It is a very tough task to obtain 8 badges. Max and Judith both are talented, and I am sure that they will be capable of participating in the tournament next year. But right now, they simply do not have the skill or power to defeat gym leaders like Lt. Surge, Sabrina, Koga and Blaine. The fact that you have done it in your first year is extraordinary."

Ash fidgeted as he felt a strange twitch in his body. He himself could only defeat Sabrina by luck, and he got the volcano badge due to the fact that Charizard decided Magmar-

"Now that there are only two months left for the tournament, I expect both of you to train harder than you every have. The tournament will be the culmination of the journey you've been on. All of Kanto will witness the results of your hard work, and you'll get to know where you stand compared to your rivals and friends, and how far you still have left to go. Doing good in your first tournament and battling your best will be the best feeling you can experience. And remember, no effort you put in is ever wasted." He looked like he was reminiscing his own first tournament.

"I also want to apprise you both on your pokedex status. Gary, in total, you have caught 52 pokémon," Ash's eyes widened at that - "only some of which are from the same evolution family. And you have seen a total of 93 pokémon. While Ash, you have caught 39 Pokémon, but most of them are tauros." Gary laughed at that. "And you have seen a total of 128 pokémon… which is a marvelous achievement for someone as young as you." Ash smirked at Gary as he clenched his hands above his head.

"So what? I did not need to flip out my pokedex at every opportunity I found. I knew most of them already. I bet in total I have seen more pokémon than you." Though he didn't look too sure of that.

"Yeah right! You think you are so much better than me. Let's battle right now. It doesn't matter how many pokémon you have. I'll show you who the better trainer is!" Ash looked completely sure of himself as he moved his hand to his belt.

"Ha. You are digging your own grave. I accept your challenge." Gary had a pokeball in his hand too.

"Boys, this is a laboratory, not a playground for kids to play at. If you want to battle go outside. And Gary, you are supposed to scan every pokémon you come across. It helps in our research, remember." Gary bowed his head and nodded grudgingly. They were already leaving the room hastily. "Wait! First give me your pokedex. You would find trainers at the tournament with pokémon not belonging to Kanto. So, I am giving both of you a pokedex upgrade. It would contain information about Pokémon from Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. Also, the upgrade would contain additional functions of listing the pokémon's ability and having an inbuilt navigator." He looked to see both boys grinning. "Now go have your fight. Come back here in half an hour to get your pokedex."

Ash was excited. Finally, he had the chance to beat Gary and puncture his overgrown head. He thought about which pokémon he would use as they walked silently out of the laboratory. He knew Gary was strong, but he had confidence in his abilities and in his pokémon. He waved to the reception lady on his way out and received a mouthed good luck from her.

Meanwhile, Gary also was lost in his own thoughts. He knew he was going to win. Finally, he had the chance to prove himself the better trainer. Not that he hadn't already done so. He had worked hard, trained each of his pokémon to fight in any situation. He thought about which pokémon he should choose. He was fairly sure that Ash would choose Pikachu. He had Rhydon to counter electric pokémon in his team. But, using it would diminish the joy of his win.

They finally reached outside that laboratory to an open field in the poke ranch. Pikachu had jumped from his shoulders and was wandering around, talking to all sorts of pokémon in the ranch. _That's why he was so excited to leave the lab. He wanted to meet his old friends._ Ash was hit by how little he knew about Pikachu before he joined for his journey.

While looking at the vast expanse that the ranch covered, he contemplated how each of his pokémon would live and behave in this ranch, each area embodying a different biome. _What is it like to live inside a pokeball?_ Ash decided to ask this at the first opportunity he got. He was suddenly greeted by his tauros team which were herding near them. All of them were looking at him with a curious gaze. The largest tauros, which he believed to be the leader, stepped towards him, and bowed.

"Hey Tauros! What does it feel like living in a pokeball?" Everyone present looked bemused at this. "Oh." Ash's face flushed, "and, how are you?"

Head tauros looked at other tauros, and all roared in unison swinging their 3 tails. Ash smiled at that. Then the head tauros nudged his pokeballs and looked around, and then nudged the pokeballs again.

"Living in the pokeball is similar to living here?" To which the tauros nodded.

"Awesome! It must be nice then. I wonder why Pikachu hates it so much?" The pokémon shrugged in response. Gary who was watching the interaction with raised eyebrows had had enough.

"Earth to Ashy boy! Did you already forget about our deal? The deal we made 10 minutes ago?"

"In your dreams! I was just waiting for Pikachu to return."

Gary was smirking as he said, "Let's have a one on one battle then. Your starter versus my starter. That way we can find who the better trainer is."

Ash could barely stop himself from grinning. Gary's starter was a squirtle. Even, if it has evolved into a blastoise, it cannot handle Pikachu. He thought it'd be a nice reunion to use the head tauros for this fight, but he didn't know any its moves. "I agree. Pikachu and I do have a bone to pick with you!"

Gary sighed. _Why did he always had to be so loud?_ This would be a nice test for Blastoise, and will provide him a measure to where he stands compared to the competition. He looked at Ash petting each tauros on the back and comparing them to each other. _Which was sure to be twice as difficult compared to him._

They both moved to the opposite sides of the field when Pikachu returned, standing on two mid-sized boulders. Gary released his blastoise. It looked back at Gary and raised his thumbs up. "Go on Pikachu. Show them who the real boss is." "Pi pika Pikapi!" with that, he jumped into the battle. Several other Pokémon had gathered around to watch the battle. Many pointed at the blastoise, as if to pick him as their choice for the winner. _And why not. That blastoise looked impressive, and Pikachu looked cute. Let's show them we are the real deal._

"You get the first move."

"You are going to regret that. Thunderbolt!" Pikachu's body began to glow from the accumulated power, and he released the electricity onto Blastoise in a single bolt.

"Protect. Then, Mud sport" Blastoise raised his hands and a soft blue glow appeared in front of its hands. It crumbled as the electricity impacted it. But the thunderbolt didn't do any damage. He then spouted water from its cannon and drenched the area around him. Finally, with cannons shuddering, he started channeling water to the ground, and the field around him converting it into mud which flew into the air covering him with mud. Gary had to jump two steps back to prevent himself from being hit.

"Agility!" Pikachu began to move in a swift manner as it increased his speed and ran in circles around Blastoise, leaving a trail of scattered dust in the air.

"Blastoise, Hydro Pump." Blastoise blasted two rapid streams of water from its cannons. Pikachu barely escaped being hit by it. Ash winced at the power behind it – _we'd have to careful._

"Quick attack" Pikachu launched himself at lightning speed with agility aiding his speed and smacked Blastoise on the stomach.

Blastoise winced, but otherwise, the attack didn't do much damage. Ash knew that Blastoise has a great defense, but it could be defeated using Thunderbolt. Due to Mud Sport, the effectiveness of electric attacks had diminished greatly. _He would have to attack it from a shorter distance._

"Water Pulse." Blastoise aimed his cannons as water came swirling out of them. He moved his cannons in a harmonic motion as water was discharged in every direction.

"JUMP! And use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped at the last moment to avoid the attack.

"Aim your cannons in the air." Pikachu tried to flip his body 10 feet up in the air while charging for Thunderbolt but was hit directly with it first.

Pikachu stood up quickly, but some damage had been done. Ash cursed to himself thinking of his avenues of attack. "Agility again, and use Thunderbolt whenever you find the chance."

"Use Hydro Pump when you think you can hit him." Gary knew Pikachu was eventually going to tire out from all the running. He knew those thunderbolts would still be painful if they hit but one direct hit from Hydro Pump would defeat Pikachu.

Pikachu stopped to use a thunderbolt but before he could, Blastoise had already started its attack. Instinctively he spun sideways and was just able to dodge the attack.

Ash gritted his teeth. He was going to lose if he couldn't find a way to attack Blastoise. _His attacks were very accurate._ He saw that Pikachu had already stopped at some distance from the blastoise and was huffing.

"Quick Attack!" With a burst of speed, Pikachu launched at Blastoise hitting him directly.

"Now use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded knowing that at such a close distance, Thunderbolt would prove effective.

"Ice Beam." Gary grinned as he saw Blastoise quickly recovered from the Quick Attack to launch the attack. Pikachu's Thunderbolt hit the ice formed due to the beam. The beam burst through the thunderbolt and hit Pikachu directly. He was launched into the air, and as he dropped to the ground, Blastoise launched another Hydro Pump at him. Ash looked horrified as he saw Pikachu thrown back several feet and remained down.

Gary whooped as he recalled Blastoise. "You did great Blastoise," he praised Blastoise in the pokeball.

"Well, well, well Ashy boy! Who's the better trainer now?" Garry tried to raise just one eyebrow, but couldn't. Ash ignored him as he picked up Pikachu to check on him.

"Are you alright Pikachu?" Pikachu slowly opened its eyes. "P-pika"

"Don't worry. He is going to be fine in a few hours," Gary replied as he closed the distance between them. "Come on. Grandpa told us to be back in half an hour." He went ahead leaving a dejected Ash on his trail.


	2. The Assistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash has attended the lesson, but has he understood it? He is not alone in it.

Chapter 2 - The Assistance

Gary walked towards the lab with a grin on his face at defeating Ash. His pokemon in the ranch were congratulating him for the win. At the surface, it was an easy battle, one in which Pikachu never really stood a chance, but he knew that getting hit by one of those thunderbolts would have made things complicated. Regardless, Ashy-boy will now think twice before challenging him.

_No, not really,_ if he really thought about it. A normal trainer would think twice before challenging him, but not Ash. He will wait for some time, but he will challenge him again. This is what he liked about Ash. You can always count on him to chase after you. His grandfather always said to him that the true measure of a trainer's potential is his ability to try again after failing, apart from a couple more things. He felt somewhat bad for Ash as he knew that this loss must have shaken him up. He saw Ash following him dejectedly staring at Pikachu.

"Cheer up Ashy-boy. No need to feel so depressed, after all, you have only lost to the next Indigo League champion." Ash's expression turned even more downcast at that.

Gary sighed. It was not his job to coddle him, but still, he tried. "It was only a single battle. Don't tell me this is the only time you have lost a battle, or are you always so gloomy after losing a battle." He grinned. "If so, you must be a real joy to travel with. I sympathize with Brock and Misty now." He saw the hands holding Pikachu curl up in a fist. "Oh no. It should be – I empathize with Brock and Misty now."

"Don't be so cocky. You may have won today. But, I assure you, the next time we battle, it wouldn't be so easy!" said the Ash that he knew.

They walked in silence for a while, when Ash asked, "How is that Ice Beam passed through that thunderbolt so easily?"

Gary looked smug as he answered, "If I had used Hydro Pump, Blastoise surely would have been hit by Thunderbolt. Water is a great conductor of electricity. Ice, on the other hand, is an insulator. This is why Ice Beam crushed the thunderbolt with such ease. The Cerulean Sisters used this move against my pikachu, but I still won," he grinned, "as you just saw, Blastoise is a lot tougher than their pokemon."

Ash was about to exclaim that he has never seen his pikachu but remembered that he has caught over 50 pokemon. He was impressed despite himself. Gary was totally prepared for the fight. He must have worked hard to counter any weaknesses that Blastoise had. Pikachu didn't have any attack to damage Blastoise with. The potency of electric attacks was diminished by Mud Sport. Blastoise even had Protect and Ice Beam to counter it. Quick Attack was just too weak to make an impact, and the time taken by Blastoise to attack with Hydro Pump was miniscule compared to the time taken by Pikachu to launch the Thunderbolt, thus leaving Thunderbolt ineffective.

He had thought that he had found an opening when Blastoise was attacked by Quick Attack the second time, but Blastoise was too quick to recover. Ash was overwhelmed by all the things that added up to his defeat. He couldn't see what he could have done to change the result. Pikachu was his best pokemon for facing Blastoise. If he had lost, then what chance did his other pokemon had.

The reception lady greeted them as they entered the building. "Samuel just left the laboratory. He told me to give you these." She handed them their pokedex. "And give me that pikachu; I'll heal him in a jiffy." She reached for him. Ash blinked and allowed her to take Pikachu. Then she went through the door behind her (which he hadn't noticed before) and left Ash alone with a smirking Gary.

Ash then turned to Gary, "That was a great battle, Gary. You have improved a lot since we last met." He was glad that the words came out of his mouth without any quiver. "But don't get too cocky. Next time, I'm gonna send your sorry ass back to where it belongs; to the ground."

Gary laughed. "That next time is a long time away, not to mention, completely imaginary."

"Haha, very funny." But a choked laugh escaped Ash. "So, what are you going to do now? Will you remain in town, or will you continue to travel?"

"I will remain here until the end of the month and prepare for the tournament. My pokemon need to improve before they are ready to challenge for the title." The battle wasn't as easy as he'd have liked. "Then I am going to travel and fight as many strong trainers as I can find. You can only train so much by yourself."

They talked for a while after that, mainly about training spots in Pallet, their gym battles, and their pokemon. A recovered Pikachu soon came running through the door bumping into Gary along the way. Ash shook his head at Pikachu's antics, and thanked Anne, the reception lady, and left for home with many different thoughts storming in his mind.

* * *

Mom was sitting alone in the house watching a movie on TV. After briefing his mom about why Professor Oak called him, he sat on the sofa beside her with Pikachu sleeping in his lap. Brock and Misty had gone to explore the town soon after he left.

"Mom, do you think I can become a champion?" Ash asked after a while. Pikachu jerked his head up at that.

His mom looked surprised at the question. She looked at him inquisitively. "Of course, you can become a champion." She said as she could see that Ash was looking for assurance. "Ash, it is not like you to doubt yourself. What's going on in your mind?"

"Doesn't being a champion means being the best?" She was about to respond when Ash continued. "I know that I am still young and that there are many years left before it is possible. But, Gary has been a pokemon trainer for the same period. And, right now he is better than me. There must be some things that I am doing wrong."

"Oh sweetie, I may not know a lot about being a trainer, but I know that everyone makes mistakes. Everyone fails at one point or another. The difference between ordinary people and a champion is how they react to those failures. A champion is someone who learns from those mistakes, who ensures that they don't make the same mistakes again." She hugged him closely. There was a shout of protest from Pikachu, as he broke loose from the embrace.

"The fact that you think you are doing something wrong is not necessarily a bad thing. Find out what you are doing wrong, and then try to set them right. Knowing what you are doing wrong is half the problem solved."

Ash remained quiet for a minute, pondering over what she said. "I know a lot of that. But it sure is hard."

"Of course it's hard, honey. If it was easy, everyone would be a champion. Ash, no one knows you better than I do, and believe me when I say this. You have all the qualities to become a champion."

"Pika!" Pikachu whacked his tail on Ash's head. "Pika pika Pikapi!" he said with determination.

"Oh, and one more thing Ash." There was another whack on his head. "Don't you ever lose faith in your abilities, and more importantly, in your pokemon. You can do it sweetie. I believe in you."

Ash choked up a little as he looked at her with affection. "You always give the best advice. I have missed you, Mom."

She smiled at him as she said, "If you were missing me, why didn't you call me much?"

"I called you every time we had a phone nearby," Ash responded in a protest.

"Well, we'll have to do something about that. Won't we?"

They spend the rest of the time watching the movie, Ash still in his mom's arms.

* * *

Ash sat in his room, going through his upgraded pokedex. He had been at it for the past few hours. Today's battle had led him to sift through the moves that Pikachu can learn; he thought that Iron Tail would be mighty useful. It was a move which complemented Pikachu's ability, as well as deals good damage to rock and ground pokemon, whom Pikachu found hard to battle. He had looked over his other pokemon too. All of them had potential moves which would be useful. _Wasn't it a trainer's duty to teach moves to their pokemon_? He felt guilty at never trying to teach good moves to his pokemon.

He also looked at the abilities of his pokemon, to which he had never really given much credence. But, now that he looked through them, various ways in which they could have aided in his battles flooded to his mind. He had never noticed Bulbasaur and Squirtle show any signs of their ability. _Maybe, he hadn't trained them enough._ He decided to go to Professor Oak's lab tomorrow for some advice.

His mind wandered back to the conversation with his mom. What was he doing wrong? Clearly, not teaching them moves to help them to battle wasn't it. He couldn't see how Pikachu with an Iron Tail would have made any difference. The obvious answer came to his mind. _He wasn't training them enough_. He remembered AJ, whose sandslash had produced a winning streak of 100 battles. He was extremely well trained in all the areas; speed, power, and defense. Maybe he should try to emulate that; he could see that if Pikachu had faster responses, there was a possibility of changing the course of the battle. It couldn't hurt to at least try his best. An image of Professor Oak came to his mind – _No effort is ever wasted._

With that. he climbed down the bed and went out of his room. Togepi was sliding down the railing with an expression of childlike delight. As he reached down the railing and propelled into the air, Pikachu dived and caught him. Togepi made a sound of pure joy and began to climb upstairs to do that all over again, but stopped when he saw him. Pikachu greeted him and jumped into his arms. Ash greeted both of them and picked up Togepi as Pikachu settled on his usual spot on his shoulder.

"Hey, wanna go outside, you can both play in the garden," he asked them. They both made sounds of approval. His mom was at the restaurant for a meeting, and he was asked to remain at home till she comes.

He scanned the skies, looking at the setting sun. It had cast a reddish glow over everything and turned Pikachu's yellow fur rosy colored. He smiled at the image. You could see an occasional pidgey chirping, and enjoying the serene weather. Togepi clambered out of his arms and trotted over the grass looked around with curiosity. Ash planked down on the grass, enjoying the moment.

"Hey Pikachu, what do you think about learning Iron Tail."

He looked at Ash perplexed, and then at his tail. He quickly shook his head frantically.

"Oh come on! You know it would be a very useful move. You have always had trouble with ground pokemon. Now, you will have something to hit them with. Imagine, you facing an Onix," Ash gesticulated excitedly. "His trainer is convinced that he is going to win. And out of nowhere, you crush his hopes, with a SUPER EFFECTIVE IRON TAIL," He tried to coax Pikachu.

Pikachu was holding his tail closely as if Ash was going to sacrifice his tail. But, the protest looked weak. "You know what. Think about that for a day. We are going to start preparing for the league from tomorrow," Ash said knowing Pikachu will agree.

Pikachu looked excited at the mention of training, forgetting his concerns about his tail. It looked like he too was motivated after losing to Blastoise. He could see someone coming from the driveway.

"Hey Brock! Misty! Where were you?"

"We were by the river. Misty decided that she wanted to see what sort of water pokemon were present around here." Ash could see that Brock was carrying Misty's fishing rod. Togepi togepreed at the sight of Misty.

"So, what happened? Did you catch any pokemon?" Ash asked as Misty scowled.

"All I could find were freaking magikarps. Why couldn't I meet a poliwag or... or a marill, anything."

"Don't forget that psyduck you encountered today," Brock said grinning. "I thought it liked you."

"Shut up your mouth if you know what's good for you," She warned Brock, and then turned to Ash. "So, what did Professor Oak called you for?"

"He just wanted to tell me about my pokedex status. He also upgraded my pokedex so that it can identify pokemon from other regions. He told me there will be pokemon from other regions in the league too."

"Really? I have never seen a Non-Kanto pokemon fighting in the league." Brock's eyebrows furrowed making it even harder to see his eyes.

Misty nodded in agreement. "Maybe this is the first time they are allowing this. Or else this Oak guy would have given you an updated pokedex in the beginning itself." Ash and Brock shrugged. "Anyway, it'd be great seeing all those new pokemon. Think of all the wonderful water pokemon we will have the fortune to see." She spun loosely at that; her eyes twinkling.

Ash frowned. "I will have to research them too," he whined.

Brock blinked. "You don't look much happy with that. I'd have thought you'd be jumping down the roof at the idea of seeing new pokemon," Brock said as he tried to keep the fish hook away from Togepi, who was trying to catch it.

"They would be at an advantage in a battle. What if I lose because of it?"

Misty stopped dancing. "Woah. Did I just hear what I think I heard?" She looked at Brock. He was also staring at Ash bemused. "Just yesterday you were bragging how you were going to win the league?" Misty asked, "not that I don't like the change."

Ash sighed running his hand through his hair. "I lost a battle to Gary today. Ow!" Pikachu had hit him with his tail again. It looked like he wasn't going to have any problem learning Iron Tail.

Ash sighed, and told them about what happened in the Ranch.

"Wow. I never thought about using Ice Beam like that." Brock nudged Misty in the ribs. "You lost one battle. So what!" Misty added.

"I know it was just one battle. But it was not that I lost, it was how I lost. I don't think I made any mistake in the battle. Blastoise was just too strong," Ash explained.

"Well, water pokemon are the strongest. You don't have to feel ashamed of losing to them." She was nudged again this time. Harder.

"Ash, I know it is very demoralizing to lose to your rival, and that too convincingly. But, feeling sorry for yourself won't help you one bit. If you think things are bad right now, then they will be worse if you do nothing. All you have to do now is to train harder, and ensure that it won't happen in the future," Brock said thinking this was a thick silver lining to it. He had always thought that Ash could be a great trainer if he could just put some effort into battling and raising his pokemon.

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I know. I have already decided to start training from tomorrow. I'd be counting on both of you to help me." Both of them nodded straight away. They spend the rest of the afternoon planning their next two months.

* * *

Ash walked into the room where Anne told him Professor Oak would be working. Pikachu had gone to visit the ranch. He could see Professor Oak working in the corner of the room, examining a slowbro, who had a device attached to him. Ash didn't want to disturb him as he looked deep in thought, looking at a screen which showed some statistical figures, which went over Ash's head.

He looked around the room. It was full of different instruments of all kinds and sizes. Most of them had some small hemispherical portions the size of pokeballs, which he guessed were pokemon scanners. There were shelves on the right wall which were studded with strange objects; he saw a flute, some steel slabs, horns, feathers, even bones. His attention was drawn to the table next to the shelf. On it was a tray, which held some stones of different colors and sizes. They were evolution stones. He recognized Thunderstone, Leafstone, Moonstone, Waterstone and Sunstone, but he had never seen the others.

He felt a strange pull towards them. As he neared them, he could feel his skin tingling and felt a disorienting sensation pass through him. It seemed that some strange energy was pulsating from them; making his knees buckle. He leaned against the table to stop himself from dropping to the floor. He felt himself getting woozy, and he tried to call Professor Oak, but he couldn't speak. He could hear shouting, and he tried to locate it but a warm glow seemed to fill his vision, and then he heard a thud of someone dropping to the floor.

* * *

Ash mumbled something incoherent as he opened his eyes. His hands were trembling, and he felt dizzy and lightheaded. He noticed that he was placed in a chair. Immediately Pikachu shouted as he looked at him in concern.

"Ash!" Professor Oak handed him a cup of hot tea. "Drink it. It will help you get relaxed."

"How are you? You gave us quite a scare there." He looked at Professor Oak and noticed they were in a different room. Pokeballs of all kinds were stacked up in the room, which was full of shelves.

"Whoa! What happened?" He could feel his whole body pricking and pulsing. It was like an adrenaline rush, only stronger.

Professor Oak studied him. "I don't really know for sure. But, it seemed like you had an adverse reaction to the evolution stones. Can you tell me how you fell unconscious?"

Ash tried to recall what happened. Several images filled his head; him and his friends training near the river, Misty trying to teach her pokemon ice beam, Pikachu using Iron Tail to finish off Brock's geodude, Ash discussing different strategies with Brock, Charizard acquiescing to train with Ash after seeing him training his pokemon, visiting different gyms to practice and train their pokemon, and finally Ash winning the league. He soon realized that these events haven't happened yet. _Is it the future._ Most of these were the things that he discussed with his friends this afternoon. _Was it still this afternoon?_ Some of them weren't though. _Were these the ideas that were floating in his mind?_ That seemed like the most probable explanation. He looked at the Professor and Pikachu, who were staring at him with concern.

He remembered. "Well, I saw the stones lying on the table. As I moved in for a closer look, I started feeling dizzy, as if my mind was spinning. The next thing I know, I am waking up here."

Professor thought for a moment while Ash drank the tea. "Some people have been known to give a strange response to the evolution stones. I have to admit that I have never seen anyone pass out due to them." Professor Oak was looking at him like he was an experiment for him to conduct.

"But...but, I have handled a thunderstone before. I didn't seem to feel anything then."

"Well, every stone radiates a different form of energy. Maybe it was the combination of all the stones that affected you. There is no need to worry. Nobody has ever been hurt from the evolution stones. How are you feeling now?"

"Like I have been on a rollercoaster ride from the Moon to the Earth." The professor's eyebrows raised to his hairline. "But I'm feeling fine now," Ash assured him.

He felt someone approaching them from behind. He looked around to see it was a krabby. It was about Pikachu's size, and he was looking at him with a strange expression.

"Is it Gary's krabby?"

The professor's lips twitched as he said, "Well, I seem to recall that you caught this krabby."

Ash was amazed at hearing that. "Wow! Krabby, you have grown." Krabby stood taller as it cracked its claws.

"Krabby has been training hard at the corral and it has stimulated a sudden growth spurt. Pokemon are not like humans in their growth pattern. The more they battle, the faster they grow. Krabby has helped me a lot in this research"

"Well, that is great Krabby," he said cheerfully. Ash was also stunned though. Here he was slacking as a trainer with the pokemon he has at hand, meanwhile, the pokemon he has left alone has been training on his own. He has not even enquired about Krabby in months. He decided to redress this immediately. "What do you say about training with me tomorrow? We can see how strong you have got." Krabby clucked happily. Pikachu approached him and started a talking to him amicably.

"Professor, how is Muk? I didn't see him at the ranch today" Ash asked.

"He is as well as he can be. You have already seen how affectionate Muk is, and the Tauros herd feel right at home at the corral. So Ash - care to tell me why you wanted to visit me?"

"I wanted some advice from you. For training."

Professor immediately brightened. "I would love to give you advice on training, Ash. Is there something specific you want to ask?"

"How should I prepare for the league?"

"That is not something I can tell you. It is up to you how to train. Every trainer has a different style of battling, they each have different pokemon and there are so many ways to battle that I cannot give you the suitable answer. It is only you who knows the answer to that question. I can help you in answering that question yourself. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of your pokemon, both individually and as a team. Keep in mind how they complement your skills as a trainer. Don't just focus on the strength of your Pokémon; give special consideration to how to counter their weakness. Remember that the most powerful pokemon aren't ones with the most strengths, but one with the least weaknesses."

Ash took his time as he pondered this. He remembered how Gary had prepared Blastoise to counter his weakness to electricity. Well, if Gary can, then so can he; he vowed with determination.

"Thank you, Professor, I think I understand it now. I also wanted to ask you how to train Charizard; he doesn't even listen to me. What should I do to get him to respect me as his trainer?" It has always been a thorn in his flesh, always at the back of his mind that Charizard doesn't want him as his trainer.

"This is nothing to worry about Ash. There are many pokemon who evolve, and then become overconfident in their ability. You always have to remember that you have a responsibility to your pokemon. No matter what happens, you have to stick to them. Even if they disrespect you as a trainer, you have to stick to them, do what you think is best for them, and eventually, your pokemon will begin to realize your worth." He waited for Ash to contemplate it, and then continued. "At first, it may be difficult, and the result you want will not be in your sight. But, you have to remain patient and refrain from thinking about the result too much. You don't learn how to walk by thinking too much about it."

Ash was looking at him in admiration. That was what he has been doing. It was great for someone other than Brock to reinforce his belief. "Hmm, Charizard has always wanted to strong. Stronger than any pokemon he faced." He remembered him as a charmeleon looking enviously at an aerodactyl and then deciding to evolve prematurely to a charizard. Ash was so delighted then. "I think I have an idea on how to earn his respect." He remembered his vision. "I will try to train him alongside my other pokemon, and when he sees them getting strong, he will have to realize that it is beneficial for him to listen to me."

"That sounds like a good idea. And Ash, if this doesn't work, remember that there are still other ways that you haven't thought about." Ash nodded gratefully.

"Now, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Ash was about to shake his head when he remembered, "Yes Professor, I was wondering about why some of my pokemon have never shown signs of their abilities. Like, my bulbasaur has never shown anything like Overgrow or Chlorophyll."

The professor smiled. "Ash, not a lot of research has gone into abilities, so I can't be sure. But if I had to venture a guess, it would be that he hasn't trained it much." Ash blinked. "Yes, you have to train their abilities too." The professor laughed.

_Training. It all comes back to training._ Ash stopped himself from smacking his head. Such a simple answer, but not a simple thing to do. He nodded at the professor. "This has been very helpful, Professor. I am sorry for interrupting your work," Ash said gratefully.

"No need to thank me, Ash. This is what I love most; helping young trainers. Call me anytime you need any help." With that, they both continued out of the storage room, with Pikachu and Krabby in tow.

"Oh, by the way, Professor, I was wondering about the lack of security around here. What if Team Rocket comes here?"

There was another laugh from him. "You sure do have a lot of questions today." He smiled. "I assure you, the security here is more than adequate. You may not see it anywhere, but it doesn't mean it's not there. There are psychic pokemon positioned at key places in the lab. They are the best defenses anyone can have. I believe you have already met one."

"No – I haven't. I'd love to meet them!" Ash exclaimed. Professor smiled at him. There was a pop, and standing in the hall was an alakazam. Unlike other alakazams though, it wasn't holding any spoons. Ash felt a shiver pass through him as he met its eyes. He knew without a doubt that this was a truly powerful and dangerous Pokémon, but he wasn't the least bit afraid standing there; awed yes, thrilled yes, humble yes, but there was no fear. There was silence for a moment, before a voice rung in his head, " _The universe wanted me to meet you, kid._ "

"Umm, what? Oh… so… hi?" Ash said awkwardly. Besides Meowth, he has never met another pokemon who can talk. Now that he thinks about it, he usually talked more to pokemon who couldn't speak.

" _Hello Ash. It looks like Samuel isn't confident in your ability to reach your house after the fortunate incident with the life stones._ " It glanced at Oak before emitting a purple aura which engulfed Ash and Pikachu. The next moment found them standing in Ash's room.


	3. Training Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our story continues. Ash is now armed with a sure-fire way to reach his dream to be a pokemon master. But knowing about something doesn't mean you will always do it. And does anything go in our life the way we intend it to.

There's a lot to be said about first-times. They sure are wondrous, opening up a whole new dimension in our world about which we knew nothing. The thing though is that sooner or later we forget about it. You would forget about your first day at school, your first trophy, your first pokemon battle, even your first friend. We are never satisfied. We always want something more, something different. We want things to change, but the curious thing is that the moment we face something new, we backtrack, suddenly afraid of it. We are confused beings.

Ash was sure he would never forget the first time he teleported.

He was standing in Professor Oak's lab, his skin still prickling from his accident with the evolution stones. He could feel Pikachu sitting on his shoulders, gazing reverently at the golden colored humanoid pokemon. A strange purple aura had surrounded the pokemon, which then engulfed Ash, Pikachu, and Krabby. Everything changed. The prickling sensation in his hands was gone. After a moment of reflection, he found that the feeling of his hands had gone. On further reflection, he could not feel any part of his body. He could not see with his eyes, listen with his ears, smell through his nose, or think through his brain. Yet he was aware of everything - he could see everything, hear every sound, smell everything present in the room, and thoughts did come to him. He could not see Pikachu, Krabby or Alakazam, but he could sense them with him, along with the rest of his pokemon that were in pokeballs. He felt light. Lighter than he had ever felt. He had never felt this good in his life.

Things changed again then as his awareness of everything faded away, leaving behind a sense of unity, a sense of oneness, and a sense of comfort. He didn't know how long he was in this state, but when his awareness returned he was standing near his bed, suddenly feeling very empty.

Alakazam was floating on the top of his bed, with its soles connected and eyes closed. Ash was silent for a minute, trying his best to capture and memorize every feeling of the event.

"What was that?" Ash's voice trembled as he spoke. Pikachu and Krabby too looked amazed.

" _You are more attuned to the universal consciousness than most human beings. While teleporting, our bodies were converted into energy, and you felt our true nature for the first time without any interference from your body's signals."_

Ash stared at it, confused. His mind preoccupied with past thoughts.

" _You are not listening now, Ash Ketchum. You will understand it when the time comes. I will leave with this one piece of advice - Even if you don't understand it, try to connect with your true nature as often as you can."_

With that it teleported again, leaving Ash behind with many thoughts racing in his mind, along with a very important question – _How?_

* * *

The next morning found Ash and the company in a clearing near the Densetsu river. There was a canopy of trees running parallelly to the river on both sides. You could see an occasional magikarp or a goldeen jumping in the steady river.

Ash had woken up unusually early for him (9 AM) today, wanting to start the next phase of his journey the right way. Brock was sharing a room with him, while Misty was staying in the guest room. They were reluctant with the arrangement, but Ash had betrayed them and went straight to his mom about it.

Misty had decided to try once again to search for good water pokemon, and was sitting on a rock with a fishing rod in her hands. Brock was lying near the river, reading a book on pokemon breeding - Partners or Slaves. He looked at the notebook in his hands. His mom had gifted it for his previous birthday, but he never really felt the need to use it. As soon as Alakazam teleported back though, he was inspired to record his experience with Alakazam. He had told his mom and friends about the incident. Misty and Brock looked as baffled as him, but his Mom looked happy and had given him a bright smile. On Brock's suggestion, he had decided to use this notebook to track his training experiences, methods and insights on the battle.

He had released all of his pokemon, keeping an eye on Charizard, who as usual greeted him with a weak flamethrower and promptly lay down resting on his elbow. Ash sighed silently chanting. _Keep patience._

"Hey all! Some of you have been to Pallet Town, but for those who haven't, this is my hometown." He waved his arms around. All of his pokemon looked around, and cheered for him, enjoying the pleasant environment.

"So guys, we are going to compete in the Indigo League in two months!" He grinned. "And guess what. We are going to win it!" His pokemon cheered. Well, Charizard scoffed. "But you know what? If we were to fight the league right now…," he waited, "we will lose."

He had everyone's attention now. He saw Misty staring at him not noticing that something was pulling her fishing rod. Brock glanced at him from the corner of his eyes.

"Not because we aren't good." He looked at each one of them. "But because there will be better, more experienced trainers in the league. Who have trained more, battled more." He looked at Charizard. "Yes Charizard. There will be pokemon who will be even stronger than you." Charizard scoffed again. That _arrogant lizard._ Ash thought hypocritically.

His pokemon were looking understandingly downcast. "Is that going to stop us though? Has it ever stopped us?"

"You, Pikachu, kicked Lt. Surge's _Raichu's_ ass, who had trashed any other pokemon it fought against, when you had a battle experience of only 2 months."

"Bulbasaur," Ash smiled, "the protector of all pokemon at Melanie's hidden village, you ruined the special festival of your species by refusing to evolve." Bulbasaur hid his face with his vines at that. "Yet, you were the one to save all of them, and eventually earned the respect of your leader." Ash saluted him.

"Squirtle, you were the leader of the squirtle squad, and have helped us defeat team rocket countless times. A lot of trainers are still trainers because of you." Ash gave him a thumbs-up.

"Pidgeotto, you have turned the battles for us when we needed it the most, even when you were at a disadvantage. For our 1st gym battle against Brock, you defeated his geodude, a rock and ground pokemon, to pave the way for us. Then for our last gym battle, you defeated a rhydon, again a rock and ground typing, to get us the badge" Ash smiled at him.

"Krabby, you haven't been with us on our journey." Ash looked at him sadly. "And that is wholly my fault. I was too ignorant of what being a trainer truly means." He looked at him in the eye. "I am extremely sorry for what I did. Or, more accurately, for what I did not do." Krabby bowed his head. "Can you forgive me?"

Krabby stared at him silently, and then raised his right claw. Ash came forward blinking back his tears, and gripped his claw with his right hand, and then hugged him. They stayed like that for a minute, Ash feeling a lot similar to how he did yesterday while teleporting. _My true nature, huh._

He thanked Krabby, stepped back, and then turned to his strongest pokemon. "Charizard, I don't need to remind you of your strength. You might not like me now, and you might not respect me," Ash said while still smiling, "which I am starting to understand. But know this, I will always be there for you when you change your mind. I will always be with you in whatever you decide. If you chose to battle with me, then we will battle together. I will strive to make us stronger together. If you chose to be on your own, I will respect that. I will continue to try to earn your respect. If you want me to let you go, I will do that. You are my partner Charizard, not my slave."

Charizard was ignoring his eyes and was looking everywhere but at him. Ash suddenly understood. He looked like a charmander lying on a rock while it was raining, waiting for his trainer. A pokemon might evolve, change its body, and even change its type. But, deep down its nature remains the same. Charizard might have adopted a more rugged personality, sprinkled with arrogance and pride, but he was still the loyal pokemon he met that rainy evening.

Ash laughed happily. "I can't express to you how happy I am right now. I will wait for you to change your mind."

Changing your mind when you believe you are better than someone, on that said someone's talk is difficult. Ash knew it would take some time, but he was now sure that time will come.

He turned to the whole group. "You are a team of champions! You have never turned your back on a challenge, and this might be the biggest challenge we will face. But I have faith in you." Ash pumped his fist in the air. "There are 2 months left for the tournament. I intend to train you every single day from now on. Even if we improve only slightly each day, over time that would add up to a lot! It is not us that should be vary of them, but rather it is they who should be wary of us!" Ash roared. "Are you with me on this?!" His pokemon cheered. "I didn't hear you. Are you with me?!" He roared louder. His pokemon responded likewise determined.

Ash had never considered this, but he was suddenly struck by the fact that these pokémon had given their life in his hands. He was suddenly feeling very small in front of his pokemon. _I need to live up to their faith in me._

"Come-on then! You know what's on the line. We have to improve to cross that line! Each of you is weak to some pokemon types, some pokemon moves. We'll focus on that first." Ash circled them. "A truly strong pokemon is not one with the most strengths, but one who has the least weaknesses," he quoted Professor Oak to them. "We will work on your weaknesses daily, and then move on to your strengths. There are some pokemon against whom you are not effective. We are going to improve each side of your battling skills guys. You will each learn moves that complement you. We will work on your abilities and strategize your battles around them. If we want to become the best, we will have to train like we want to become the best. It will be difficult, but everyone would be a champion if this wasn't difficult," he finished with a shrug. They gave a cheer as they looked up at him with determination, all fired up. Even Charizard for once looked like he was listening to him. Misty was smiling at him brightly and gave him a thumbs-up. Brock clapped, disregarding his book which was lying sprawled on the grass.

Ash smiled. _Well, that went kind of awesome._

* * *

An hour later, Ash was standing under the same open sky, the river still flowing gently, magikarps and goldeens still jumping about, pidgeys still chirping. But everything was suddenly looking more beautiful to Ash. He was suddenly feeling a lot more confident now. His pokemon looked really pumped for training, except for Charizard, who had flown to the other side of the river, and was practicing his fire moves. He had discussed battling styles of his pokemon with them, went over the potential moves they can learn, and the skills they'd need to improve.

Pikachu and Pidgeotto had speed as their main weapon, and their battles will revolve around their speed. They will train on using that speed for making his attacks stronger and more precise, and to evade his opponent's attacks. Along with speed, Pikachu will work on learning Iron Tail and Dig to cover for his weaknesses, and improving his electric moves; making them faster and more accurate. Pidgeotto will focus on learning Tailwind which will, along with Agility, be a big boost to his speed. Along with that, he will work on learning double team to provide a further augment his defense. His attack looked good with moves like Quick Attack, Double-Edge, Gust and Whirlwind in his arsenal.

Bulbasaur was very versatile. He could use his vines very well to attack and defend. He knew moves like Razor Leaf, Leech Seed, and even Solar Beam. To aid his defense and add an option to attack fire and flying pokemon, he agreed to learn Dig and Sludge Bomb.

Squirtle, he decided, was the perfect pokemon to work with. He had a sturdy build, perfect for defense, but he had aggression in spades, which contributed to his attack. He would be working on learning Ice Beam to fight grass pokemon, and dig to provide additional defense opportunities and fight electric pokemon.

Currently, Krabby and Squirtle stood on the field on opposite ends facing each other. He wanted to see how Krabby does in battle before planning his training. Brock and Misty had also released their pokemon for training; Misty finally admitting defeat on capturing a nice water pokemon.

"OK guys! You are on your own in this battle. I already know about how Squirtle fights, but I don't know anything about your battling style, Krabby. Show me what you've got!"

Squirtle and Krabby stared at each other gauging their opponent before Squirtle sprinted towards Krabby launching a water gun at him. Krabby stayed in his position raising his pincer to block the water gun, before opening his right pincer, and releasing white clear bubbles which traveled at great speed at Squirtle.

Squirtle evaded most of them but was hit by a few. Undeterred, he continued his run and jumped in the air spreading his arms and legs wide to use slam on Krabby, who didn't have much time to evade the attack. Ash was surprised when he saw that Squirtle had hit the ground, and Krabby was nowhere to be seen. _Hmm. He knows Dig. Brilliant!_

Krabby suddenly launched from the ground, flailing his pincers, but Squirtle had just jumped at the right time. Krabby reacted fast to catch Squirtle's tail in a vice grip.

Squirtle tried to escape, but couldn't free himself from Krabby's grip. Krabby grinned and started mauling Squirtle using his other pincer. It looked like it would be over soon, but Squirtle launched a rapid stream of water at the right time to hit Krabby's face, making him lose his grip.

Ash stared. He wasn't expecting that! Squirtle was struggling to remain up and was on all four legs now. It looked like he had used his shell to fend off most of the damage. Ash couldn't believe that Squirtle was getting thrashed by Krabby.

Suddenly, Squirtle screeched. Lying in front of him were his glasses, which had slipped from his shell, looking as thrashed as him ("Oh no", Ash muttered). Squirtle's eyes were watering when he began shaking. He started shouting at Krabby, who just clicked his pincers arrogantly.

Squirtle looked enraged, and charged at him, throwing a jet of water on the ground below him, springing up in the air. He pulled his head inside his shell and started rotating, bringing forth intense streams of water. Krabby tried to evade the attack, but it was too fast. He was doing his best to block out the attack by using his pincers, but the attack was coming from all directions. He was flipped backward, and Squirtle was attacking him again with all his might, this time using his claws on the underside, the less sturdy portion of Krabby's body.

The situation was reversed now. Krabby was struggling to remain up, while Squirtle was glaring at him. Ash was about to intercede before the situation escalated more than it had when Krabby started glowing. Squirtle stared at the figure, suddenly twice as large as before and much more menacing, and took a step back. He remembered the force with which he was attacked before and didn't want to test the increase in his strength.

"Kokee Kokee," a deep voice grumbled as it stared at Squirtle, who was backing up. He suddenly stepped on his late glasses, and closed his eyes, shaking. He was engulfed in a white light, and you could see the silhouette of the figure changing, expanding.

"Wartortle," a deep voice grumbled in return, as it stared at Kingler. Ash interceded before the battle begins again, though it would be a great battle.

"Hey! Stop it! This is just a training match. There's no need to go all out. Not that I am complaining or anything like that about the result. Don't worry Wartortle, we'll get another goggle for you." Ash grinned as he stepped forward. "Both of you were great! Especially you Krabby..uh Kingler, I think. Oh wow! You are taller than me now. I can't wait for the tournament to begin. You guys are going to rock!" And then he started crying anime style.

"That was unexpected," Brock said, while Misty was looking astonished. "Water Pokémon are awesome!" Misty too joined Ash. ("I was expecting that," Brock sighed).

Rest of his pokemon came forward to congratulate them. But Bulbasaur was looking annoyed at Wartortle, and picked up his destroyed goggle with his wine, as if to say – _for this?_ Wartortle scratched his head, embarrassed.

* * *

Sometimes later, Ash was overseeing the training of his pokemon.

After settling down from his battle and evolution induced elation, Ash had decided that Kingler would be his power horse; his pincers jammed just too much horsepower. He sensed that he needed a bit of speed and attack coverage to be more effective. So, Kingler was currently learning Agility and Ice Beam.

Ash smiled at the team cohesion among his pokemon. Kingler, who knew Dig, was currently training Pikachu, Bulbasaur and Squirtle on how to tap into their ground energy, and use this move. He was, in turn, being taught by Pikachu on how to use Agility. Every pokemon had a different method of applying a move, but the basic concept remains the same. Misty's starmie will be helping his water pokemon to learn Ice Beam, but she was currently working with him to use Ice Beam as a defense to electric attacks.

Whenever she was ready, she would ask Pikachu to launch a thundershock at Starmie. But she wasn't being successful. The electric attack simply passed the beam.

"A beam is not solid enough to stop the attack," Brock commented. "You need actual ice instead of a beam to stop the attack."

Misty growled in frustration. "I understand as much, but how to actually do so. I'd need something to have contact with the beam." Misty realized that using ice beam as an electricity defense wasn't so simple. "There's no way my sisters learned that on their own. I call bullshit!"

Ash snorted at that. Misty had a severe inferiority complex when it comes to her sisters, despite being a better trainer than them. He couldn't understand why Misty was so jealous of her sisters. They were nothing special.

"Wait, water!" She exclaimed as she saw the ice beam hitting the river and forming a layer of ice. "Starmie needs to release water along with the beam in order for it to be effective!"

"Nice thinking Misty, that should work. But it wouldn't be easy for Starmie to access two different types of energies at once. It would require some training. The good thing is that we have nothing but time on our hands." Brock congratulated her.

Ash smiled. Every run-of-the-mill trainer has an electric pokémon on their team. So, fighting just by using water pokémon is a major disadvantage. One needs to have patience and the mental fortitude to make their pokémon stronger and to offset their weakness, if they wanted any chance to succeed as a water pokémon trainer. Succeeding as a water pokemon trainer came down to one thing – grit, and Misty sure had that.

"You can do it Misty! And then you can teach that move to my pokemon!" Ash cheered. "Come on Pikachu. We need to help Starmie learn it quickly. Thundershock!"

Misty, who was previously smiling at Ash's confidence in her, suddenly shouted, "Hey! Wait! Starmie, add water to the ice beam!" Before hitting Ash on the head. And then hitting again when the move didn't work.

They continued to train for a while with Ash wondering why he didn't train much previously. _This is fun._ They suddenly heard a roar from the other side of the river.

Charizard was flying in the air glowering at a small, purple bipedal pokemon, wearing a strange hat. The purple pokemon ignored him and continued to move forward. Charizard roared loudly, before launching a large flamethrower at him. A large area around the pokemon was hit by the attack. _Oh no. What have you done Charizard? I hope that pokemon is fine._

Ash rushed ahead to have a proper look, but when the smoke cleared, there was nothing, except a burnt-out region of grass. Charizard was looking around confused when he was hit by sharp pieces of ice falling from the air at him.

"No! Charizard!" Ash cried.

Charizard controlled his flight midair when another round followed. This time he fired a huge blast of fire at the ice, melting them before he could be hit. Suddenly, a figure came flying from a nearby tree and clung to his back using sharp claws.

Charizard screamed and wriggled to make him fall. But the purple pokemon's hold was strong. He released one of his claws, which glowed black, before smacking him on the back of his head.

Charizard was stunned and started falling to the ground. The pokemon hit him again with the same move before jumping off of him to the ground.

Ash's heart stopped as he saw Charizard falling to the ground. He whipped out his pokeball and recalled him just before he could strike the surface.

Ash stared at the bipedal pokemon, who didn't have a single scratch on him, in disbelief. How could this midget defeat Charizard so easily? He whipped out his pokedex to scan him.

" _Weavile, the sharp claw pokémon. Weavile is the evolved form of Sneasel. It is said to be extremely intelligent and its sharp eyes see everything._ _This dark and ice type pokemon is found mainly in Sinnoh, but is said to have been seen in cold, icy areas of other regions."_

"Woah! A dark type pokemon!" He had never seen a dark type before. "What is it doing here in Pallet Town?"

His question was answered when a tall, muscular man with white flowing hair, in a long black coat, light gray t-shirt, black trousers and black boots, walked smoothly to Weavile and gave it an annoyed look. Weavile suddenly looked abashed and was then recalled to his pokeball. The tall man then released another pokemon in the water, a blue pokemon similar to a dinosaur, but unlike a dinosaur, it looked very gentle, and climbed on it.

"Ash, be careful. He is dangerous," Brock whispered. While Ash stared at him angrily, Misty looked captivated by him.

The blue pokemon surfed to their side of the shore and greeted them gently. The muscular man dropped off it, and then looked at them scrutinizingly.

"Sorry to interrupt your training. But I don't think 5 minutes would harm your chances, will they?" He asked amused. He looked at Ash when he said, "I just wanted to test the strength of your charizard, but I forgot about the capriciousness of my weavile. It doesn't look like your charizard was harmed too much though. He was falling because he was stunned by the shadow claw," he assured Ash. "Though if they had fought longer, he sure would be in a weak position," he said calmly.

Ash bristled, "Oh yeah! You just surprised him. I challenge you to a battle right now!"

He looked at the rest of his pokemon, and shook his head disappointingly. "No. Not right now. Your pokemon are not ready for this kind of battle. Say what? Let's battle tomorrow at this place at noon. I will bring along one of my weaker pokemon. And Charizard would be ready for a fight by then."

Ash was getting annoyed by the arrogance of this trainer. "I have met many arrogant trainers like you who think they are so superior to others," Ash hurled his anger at him. "Most of them soon regretted it though! By the way, who are you? I have never seen you around here."

The arrogant trainer smiled, "Yes, I too dislike these arrogant trainers who think they can just beat anybody, without thinking of what their pokemon would have to face, or how much they could get hurt." He was silent for a moment, watching him before replying again. "Who am I? I am someone searching for the answers to his questions. I am someone trying to find justification for his actions. I am someone who is trying to do the right thing. But this is not what you are searching for, is it? You can call me, Ragnar. Can I know who you are?"

Ash was confused. Did this man always speak in this way? And Ragnar – what a coooool name. He wished his parents had named him something like that.

"I am Ash," he said disappointingly. "I am from this town, and you are talking to a future pokemon master!"


End file.
